“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m here. And I… I turned nineteen. I graduated a few months ago.”
Her mouth parted slightly. Her expression softened.
“I missed graduation?” she asked.
Maybe time worked differently for her. Maybe that’s what a rough life does, bends things, stretches and twists them until years feel like days. As if she hadn’t disappeared a decade ago. As if graduation was all she’d missed out on, not a whole life.
“That’s not all you missed,” I whispered. “I can’t believe you’re—” I swallowed hard, voice buckling. “You’re alive. Everyone thought…” I shook my head. “We thought you were dead, Licia. You just… vanished.”
Her eyes dropped, lashes fluttering.
“What happened?” I asked softly.
She stared at the blanket, fingertip gliding over the fabric like she was sketching something invisible.
“My mum woke me in the night,” she murmured. “Told me we had to leave. Right then. No time to pack, just run.” Her voice drifted. “I don’t know why. I tried to see it in my visions, but I never did. I asked the gods why, they didn’t answer. I remember a long carriage ride, staying at inns. Somehow, we ended up in Alevé. I don’t know if she knew where we were going. For a while, I thought we’d run forever. Mum said it would be safe there, that we’d have a fresh start.”
Her lip trembled.
“But I lost her,” she said quietly. “I think she died. But I don’t know how. She left one morning to find work, said she’d be back before sundown. But she never came back.”
Tears welled despite her blinking.
“And then I met Ero. He found me sketching on the pavement. Said I had talent. Said I could stay in his loft, paint all I wanted. And I thought… maybe it was a second chance.”
She gave a bitter laugh that stuck in her throat. “He was kind. For a while.” Then her face contorted, like she might be sick. “Then he started bringing people over. Men. Said he needed the gold. Said I owed him. And I told him no.”
She paused. I regretted asking, seeing how much pain was embedded in those memories. And it hurt me too, hearing her story. Knowing we’d left that man breathing.
“One night, I woke up to footsteps.” She sucked in a breath. “I thought it was him. But he had friends. I couldn’t see anything. Someone threw something over my face, and I kicked. I screamed. I bit someone’s hand, hard enough to feel the bones crack through my teeth. But it didn’t matter.”
She swallowed hard.
“Next thing I knew… I was chained to a bed.”
“Aran beat him up,” I said quietly.
Her head snapped up. “What?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, pulse quickening. “The serp—Ero, refused to tell us where to find you. Aran almost killed him.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, her whole frame tensing. “Aran is here? What are you talking about?”
“Yes,” I said. “Will and Aran were here. They saw you. A few days ago. That’s how I knew—”
“You’re lying,” she cut in, voice rising. “I would’ve remembered. I would’ve seen them.”
“They’re here,” I said, willing her to believe me. “They’re going to help us out.”
Her face crumpled.
“They’ll be waiting forever then,” she muttered. “There’s no leaving this place. I told you. There’s no leaving.”
“I’ll find a way,” I swore, gripping her hand again.
She looked at me like I was mad. “You can’t.”
“I can,” I said. “I will. I can do things, Licia—things I never thought possible. I’m going to get you out of here.”
